Barrasso Blames Inaction For Wildfires, Others Blame Funding Cuts
Wildfires have dominated headlines in much of western Wyoming this summer. Wyoming Senator John Barrasso chairs the Senate Environment Committee and this week held a hearing on a string of bills that proponents say will help keep those catastrophic wildfires at bay. But Matt Laslo reports from Washington that some people say that lawmakers are trying to do too much.
Former EPA Admin Gina McCarthy Reacts To Changes In New Administration
Since January, President Trump has ordered systematic rollbacks of Obama-era environmental regulations. He’s voiced an intent to focus on energy development and jobs over environmental regulation. Many of these rules were crafted by Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency under Gina McCarthy. She was EPA Administrator during his second term. They focused on taking strong steps against climate change. Wyoming Public Radio's Cooper McKim spoke with McCarthy during her visit to Wyoming and gets her reaction to these changes.
Jackson Filmmaker Gains Trust of Elusive Snow Leopards
The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival attracted an international audience this week for what many call the Oscars of nature film. Finalists included Wyoming filmmaker Shane Moore. Moore started making films when he was just 12 and growing up in Granite Creek, 30 miles southeast of Jackson. He met pioneers of nature shows, including Wild Kingdom and Walt Disney, on his family ranch where they came to film. Moore was a finalist for two films, Born in China and Ghost of the Mountains. Both feature the rarely seen and rarely filmed snow leopard. Rebecca Huntington has more.
America's Place On The World Stage: One Policy Expert's Take
For the last 30 years, Stephen Walt has watched American and World Politics. He’s a foreign policy expert and a historian of the Cold War. He visited the University of Wyoming as part of the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholars Program, and he joined me to discuss the how the current political climate is different from the Cold War.
When Campus Rape Prevention Starts Before College
In August we aired a story about a University of Wyoming student who filed a Title 9 complaint with the federal government about the handling of her sexual assault. Since then Education Secretary Betsy DeVos initiated an overhaul of the federal guidelines concerning sexual violence enforcement on college campuses. Wyoming Public Radio’s education reporter Tennessee Watson explores UW efforts to prevent sexual violence.
Bringing The Children Home: Northern Arapaho Exhume Boarding School Graves
In 1881, fifteen children from the Wind River Indian Reservation were sent to the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. All were the children of chiefs, sent bearing gifts for their white educators. But only six of those children survived the experience. Three were buried in the school's cemetery. Now, as Wyoming Public Radio's Melodie Edwards reports, the Northern Arapaho tribe has exhumed those graves so they could bring their ancestors home to be reburied.
ESPC Launches Effort To Increase Legislative Accountability
The Equality State Policy Center has launched a new effort called The People’s Review. It’s intended to let the public know how their legislators voted on key legislation supported by social justice, conservation, and labor groups in Wyoming. The Director of the ESPC is Phoebe Stoner. She explains what they are trying to accomplish.
Miss Wyoming USA Is Excited To Represent The State
Earlier this month Callie Mae Bishop was crowned Miss Wyoming USA. The Casper native had sought the title for a number of years. In real life, Bishop is a yoga instructor, rock climber, and serves beer…in other words…the perfect Miss Wyoming. She says the victory is a dream come true.